Snapshots From Home

June has commenced and I am wishing you all a happy new month! This month will be a very busy one and packed with travels. I will be off to Paris on Wednesday to attend the presentation of the new Habitat collection and discover a few new spots in the French capital. Next weekend I will be off to London with my Urban Jungle Bloggers partner-in-crime Judith to speak at Blogtacular about our green and thriving community. Then I am off to Amsterdam, Austria and back to Paris. In such busy times I love to save some rare but precious moments at home and unwind. Oh well, and enjoy some new little additions bien sûr!

I will not bore you with my future trips now, I will do that after the trip, ha! But for now I just want to  share some little snapshots of my home with you (yes, still the same small shoebox apartment). I have added a few new 'tchotchkes' to my home which I really like! Recently I've been e-thrifting and managed to score a few goodies like two vintage ceramic vases (mid-century German pottery) and a cute brass crane figurine - all found on eBay. I have also potted my new mini plants from Bordeaux (you remember from HERE) and the Sedum plant is now in my 'evil eye' planter, handmade by the potter Leandro Marcelino of 'Hey Camel Bazaar' in Vietnam.

For the scent of a comfy home I have opened the brand new KOTO scent diffuser which is perfect for summer as I tend to reduce my candle burning during the hot season. The diffuser is perfect as it scents the apartment gently and it looks pretty stylish. For candle lovers there is now a small KOTO candle too, all available through Skandinavisk.

Maybe you remember the motto I preach for small home dwelling: One in - one out. With all the recent additions it's time to restore the good balance which I will do by donating a huge pile of home goodies for free to a local flea market that will be organized on June 13th in Munich and all earnings will then be donated for earthquake relief in Nepal. That makes me double happy!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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New Shelf Unit At Home

Sometimes I feel that I am pretty continuous for an interior design blogger. I mean I have furniture in my home that's been around for seven years now. On the very same spot. Imagine that! Whenever I read of those creative interior bloggers who shuffle their furniture weekly and exchange their furnishing on a regular basis, I feel like an idle conservative. So I made a decision to change my shelf unit for once. And here it is. 

Previously I had a somewhat quirky shelf unit that was irregular in its shape and with closed sides. Now I have opted for a lighter, airier version in order to keep it light and bright in my small space. This shelf unit has open sides which is perfect to display cascading plants like my ivy as they are free to grow and get enough sunlight even if the shelf unit is not placed close to a window. Moreover I liked the Nordic vibe of the shelf unit using oak wood and a white finishing.

I found my shelf unit named 'Farringdon' at Habitat during one of my visits in their Paris store. I liked it instantly and a few weeks later it arrived in my Munich home. I also like the fact that it offers a lot of space for ever changing stylings and decor vignettes. After all it seems I am not that idle. Nor am I a conservative. Here's to fun shelf stylings!

Farringdon shelf unit by Habitat, Vida floor lamp by Urbanara

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Happy New Year & Peace In 2015!

Happy New Year, my friends! May 2015 bring happiness, health and peace to all of us - I wish nothing more than that! I hope you all kicked off 2015 with your beloved ones and let us all work on a fantastic and good year to be proud of!

This January starts with a lovely home story for Happy Interior Blog. I am very honored to be the cover story of the January issue of Heart Home Magazine. A little home tour and story about my rooftop apartment in Munich is now available to all interested readers HERE.

I truly believe that happiness needs to be the strong fundaments of our homes. If we are happy and content, we will spread this happiness and share it with the world. Even the slightest dash of happiness will brighten our world that is so often darkened by crazy, incomprehensible attacks against a human and peaceful world. I am still under the oppression of the recent attacks in Paris, France, the city I call my second home. One sentence needs to unify all of us today: Je suis Charlie!

Let us remember that happiness and peace are the bond between all of us, that it is the essence for a better world and a better life. Let us all work on that in 2015!

Have a great one, my friends!

Photos by Igor Josifovic via Heart Home Magazine

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Little Boho Makeover At Home

Whenever in life we feel the need for change, there is one or several reasons triggering it. When I felt like it's time to make a little boho makeover at home, I think I was ushered by an inner drive caused by the warm summer weather, my recent trip to Serbia, the general desire to explore the world, colour inspiration from the streets. All these or maybe something else, I don't know exactly, I just know I gave in and rolled up my sleeves. Here we go.

First I was going through a stack of extra accessories I had at home. I found my vintage Boucherouite rug from Morocco (sourced at my Marrakech based friend Maryam's Red Thread Souk), a Mexican blanket, a Moroccan cushion, a very colorful bedspread, a vintage lithography of oriental folk costumes bought in Paris and my ever present collection of vintage ceramics, colorful vases and plants. That seemed like a good pile of home accessories with a boho touch.

Another important fact was my gallery wall in the living room. It's been up for like a year and I wanted to change it entirely. I needed a new center piece and I found a wonderful Mark Rothko art print on a wooden panel through allposters.de - I was immediately drawn to the blue and yellow interpretation. Around it I've decided to add some vintage and newer paintings. 

While unrolling the Boucherouite rug I started to play with it and tested it in my living room and in my bedroom. Personally, I prefer it in the bedroom cause it is more neutral and the vibrant colours and patterns of the Boucherouite come to full impact there. What do you think? After lots of shuffling around and a few coffees, I approached the end of my boho makeover.

As a person I see myself as a traveler, as an explorer. Traveling is the essence and makes me happy. But it is not only the travels abroad that keep me going. It is also the daily impulse to see the world around me with other eyes. I like to think of that as my boho soul. And thinking about it this way, I'm convinced that everyone could use a bit of boho in the life. Don't you agree?

Have a happy weekend, friends!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

This post was supported by allposters.de

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Growing A Home With Love & Reflection

It's almost three years ago that I started Happy Interior Blog. And it all started because of my love and passion for interiors but more than that because of my love for personal homes with a soul and character. Homes that mirror the owner's personality. Homes that grow over time. With its dwellers. Even though I have not moved from my apartment ever since I started blogging, it has grown over time, it has changed, shaped and has gotten more mature, more reflective, it has become a tad more serene. And what is even more important - it is far from reaching a point of perfection. Just like myself. That's why I want to encourage you to love your home, to grow it and to be comfortable and content with the home you are shaping yourself.

Home has a peculiar meaning to me. As a kid belonging to the so-called second generation of foreigners living in Austria, I grew up being at home in Austria with my parents, but everyone kept telling me that our real home was back there what then was Yugoslavia. I grew up in a feeling of not belonging here nor there. Or belonging here and there. I've developed a feeling of being at home wherever I found myself at any point in my life - be it in Austria, Greece, Germany or France.

Growing a home takes time. Like growing anything in life: partnerships, kids, or simply plants. It requires time and attention. And lots of reflection. This applies to homes too. Let your home flow and go with your life. Bring things in, take things out. Just like in your mundane life. Stick to things, cherish them and don't part with them. Again, just like in your everyday life. Make your home not only a safe haven, but also a reason to be happy. Let it make you smile, let it make you unwind, ponder, and feel at ease. After all, it's your home, it's you. It's where you belong. Wherever that may be.

Happy weekend, friends!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Home Tour: Welcome To My Home!

I've promised it for quite a while: a little home tour of my tiny rooftop apartment. Well, welcome to my home, friends! I am sharing a few snaps of my abode here and hope you gonna like it.

My flat is really small - I call 32 square meters my home so you can imagine that I am always challenged when it comes to new buys or rearranging my stuff. My living room and bedroom are adjacent and connected by a round arch. These are the main areas of my daily life whereas the more practical spaces like kitchen and bathroom are very tiny and rather utilitarian in the back of my flat. I have no particular style in my home, it is more like myself: a bit of this, a bit of that!

Sometimes I feel like I would love to live in a bigger apartment. On the other hand, I like the cosiness and intimacy of my small home. Moreover, it is great to be challenged when it comes to interior design and home decoration: I avoid too much clutter and try to find creative ways to reinterpret the small space. 

So, what do you think of it? Anything you like or dislike in particular? Anything you would change? Let me know!

Styling & photography by Will Taylor and Igor Josifovic

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